Monday, March 30, 2009
Financial Arrests Worlwide,
Largest Mortgage Fraud Bust
Federal agents say they have dismantled the largest mortgage-fraud conspiracy in state history by indicting seven people on charges they bilked banks and other financial institutions out of $48 million, pocketing more than $9 million to fund lavish lifestyles that included matching Lamborghini sports cars.A grand jury issued a 40-count indictment naming two Bellevue mortgage brokers, an Eastside escrow company and an Issaquah real-estate agent in a scheme involving the repeated purchase and resale of Eastside and Seattle-area homes using a succession of paid "straw buyers" or other unqualified borrowers to obtain ever-larger loans they could never pay back, then siphoning money off escrow.In one instance, according to U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan, a house cleaner who made no more than $20,000 a year qualified for a $1.2 million loan for a house in Medina because her application said she made $45,000 a month — which was news to her when asked by federal agents, according to court documents.Sullivan said the case was complex and ongoing, and that the amount of the loss will likely grow, and possibly the number of defendants.
As the indictments were unsealed Thursday, more than 50 federal agents executed search warrants at the offices of Kobay Financial Corp., Nationwide Home Lending and Emerald City Escrow, which has been at the heart of the yearlong investigation, according to Inspector Robert Bethel, who runs the Seattle Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Agents also searched the homes of the defendants and several safe-deposit boxes.
Those charged, The seven people charged include Vladislav Baydovskiy, 31, and Victor Kobzar, 32, the co-founders of Kobay; Alla Sobol, 28, the owner of Nationwide Home Lending, and her husband, David Sobol, 40, an Issaquah real-estate agent and co-founder of Emerald City Escrow; and Donata Baydovskiy, 28, of Bellevue, Vladislav's wife and David Sobol's partner at Emerald City.
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Posted by Tracey on 03/30/09 at 11:40 AM •
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